[narrator bias poll!]

[reenka]

I just couldn't help it, thinking about these questions while reading 'King Dork', which is very us-vs-Them and counterculture-vs-'Normals', to the point where even though I empathized with the pov character, I felt slightly bad for everyone else (who wasn't so clearly characterized anyway, including the best friend-- unreliable narrator heaven).

I was wondering about the relationship between empathizing with the pov character vs the underdog or whether they can feed into each other (since here we had your classic underdog-pov situation, and I was, in fact, suckered.) Also, whether this all generally relates to whom is better written than whom :>


[Poll #749682]
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    EDIT - If you picked 'other (?)', tell me whyyyyyyyy! Heh. I'm like 'omg, I know my answer options weren't full enough, I totally suck, WAH' :))

Comments

[blacksatinrose.livejournal.com]

I'm sure you're totally shocked by this, Reena, but:

1. I don't really empathize/identify with characters.

2. On the rare occasions that I do, it doesn't make a difference as to whether I like them or not because if they're interesting I'll like them even if I don't "get" them and if they aren't no amount of understanding will compensate for their being boring.

3. I don't really take sides!

4. Hurting my favorite character never makes me dislike a character.

5. I'm not much of an underdog rooter, but then I'm not a top dog rooter either. Juuust whatever fits for the moment.

I'm so like, boring. :D

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Hee! I know. I think of you as like, the manifestation of Lady Justice in this sense (not in the living-statue sense... er). I dunno if anyone's told you, but you'd probably make a great lawyer. Or at least a really scary unbuyable one :-? (Either that, or I could see mafia-boss!Ariel if you went to the dark side, y'know, one of those totally ruthless yet businesslike bottom-line-focused ones... er... hehehe). I totally admire that about you, you know (just don't hurt me, eheheh) :D

In other words, I wish I was more like that, but I get distracted a lot (plus I have this dual-processing thing going on where I'm both aware -and- biased-through-identifying... I'm shocking too, I know), though I'm not really an underdog vs dog person either way :>

[blacksatinrose.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA IT'S FUNNY YOU SHOULD SAY THAT because I'm actually seriously seriously considering going into law. It's either that or criminal profiling.

It's weird a bit because I almost wish I had these emotional connections that people have just because it'd be interesting? But at the same time, I detest bias and I'm bothered enough that I can't get rid of the ones I have, so I kind of don't want any MORE.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I think it just seems like a natural fit with your personality~! Both profiling and being a lawyer, just that one is more with the solving psych puzzles & tactics alone and one is more applied towards people directly-- so it depends which seems more appealing, since you'd probably be equally great at both :> With most people, I'd not be too enthusiastic re: the lawyer or any sort of 'social worker' thing -because- most people who're excited or at least v. interested in the law tend to be idealistic types who burn out and become horrible lawyers (or they're money-grubbing assholes, but that's a given). You're the sort of person who could do it without burning out or being ethically questionable (sociopathic? haha) either, so it just seems to fit :D It's that combination of thinking clearly but not -too- inside the box and applying the law intelligently rather than blindly, I think. Profiling sounds fun in a more academic way :>

Well, on one level you have to realize -some- bias just makes you human, and it's enough just to be aware of it so it doesn't pull a sucker-punch-- I mean, if you had no biases... I mean, is that even possible while dealing with humans rather than facts/scientific questions? But if you had none, you'd either be a robot or god, both of which seem like too big of a price to pay for no bias :> Also, I think it's possible to both have a bias (to make things interesting) and be able to self-disengage enough to temporarily lift it. But that takes an odd & freakish sort of personality, so I won't recommend it :>

[blacksatinrose.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think it is possible. I mean, humans are biased people, they see everything through a filter of their own experiences and preferences and emotions, absolutely. One of the reasons I dislike people is because they have this nasty tendency to see things in an extremely biased way, and then proclaim that everyone who doesn't share their conclusions is delusional/stupid/fucked up/projecting, when actually they're just doing exactly the same thing, but with DIFFERENT experiences, preferences and emotions. Which is a rant for another day maybe but seriously that's probably the most annoying thing people do, to me.

I wouldn't mind being a robot or a god!

And I don't disagree that it's possible to have a bias and self-awareness - if I step back and check myself I can often counteract mine, although it's hard to tell when I'm counteracting it so much that I end up going over to the other side to compensate for having been stuck on one side to begin with!